Pinocchio et l'Empereur de la nuit

In the second half of the 80's, Filmation announced, uh... ambitious plans to expand into theatrical animation with a "New Classics Collection," a series of movies based on existing fairy tales and stories, several of which-coincidentally-were already popularized by Disney adaptations. These movies weren't just adaptations, they were full on sequels inviting the audience to come see their favorites again. Many of these films never happened due to Disney lawsuits and Filmation being sold to L'Oreal (yes, that L'Oreal) and stripped for parts. Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night was one of the only two movies to see the light of day.

Serving as a sort of pseudo-sequel, this movie begins a year after the blue fairy turns Pinocchio into a real boy, with him presumably having learned his lesson along the way. She gives him a conscience in the form of Gee Willikers the glowbug (whose advice he mostly ignores). When Geppetto needs to deliver a jewel box to the mayor, Pinocchio volunteers to do it himself. He is immediately swindled by the raccoon and monkey con artist duo Scalawag and Igor, trading the box for a fake ruby. Mortified by his own gullibility, Pinocchio runs away that night and ends up in a creepy carnival where he meets a puppet girl named Twinkle. The ringmaster Puppetino turns Pinocchio back into a lifeless puppet, but the fairy is able to save him. Her powers are fading because of the influence of Puppetino's master, the Emperor of the Night, but she is able to restores Pinocchio. Twinkle isn't so lucky, with Pinocchio vowing to find a way to free her too. Pinocchio decides to get the jewel box back to prove his responsibility, a journey that eventually takes him into the twisted realm of the Emperor himself.

I've seen this hailed as one of the worst things to come out of Filmation, and, honestly... I don't quite agree. Sure, it's shameless in its "inspiration" from the Disney version of Pinocchio's story, filing off the serial numbers enough to be legally distinct, but it's the movie's attempts to swing wildly away from the familiar that makes it most interesting. Some of the set pieces are remixed and reorganized, with the Emperor's ship being a combination of Monstro and Pleasure Island. I ended up enjoying the presence of Scalawag and Igor more than Honest John and Gideon, as their change of heart halfway through the movie allowed them to be more involved in the plot right through to the end. And there are a few trippy and downright nightmarish sequences in the movie. The scene where Pinocchio is turned back into a puppet mentally scarred a lot of kids. You don't really get that kind of darkness these days. The biggest departure is the Emperor of the Night, a Satan-esque villain voiced by James Earl Jones. It may seem random at first, but a puppet child going up against a demonic entity that steals souls by tricking kids into signing contracts feeds into the theme of freedom.

What hurts the movie are all the things that are inherited as a Filmation production. It was made on a budget and in a short amount of time, leaving several parts undercooked. Animation quality can vary wildly from scene to scene, going from fluid and expressive to infamous stilted characters and flapping jaws. The scene where Pinocchio first meets Scalawag and Igor is bustling with animated energy; when he meets them again after the circus, they're suddenly stiff, rife with zoom ins and static characters akin to He-man's worst moments. It's like two different studios animated this movie, and the disparity can even happen in the same scene. The writing also isn't quite all there. Twinkle is less of a character and more of an objective for Pinocchio. Scalawag and Igor have a nebulous connection to Puppetino and the Emperor that's never elaborated on. And there's a ten minute detour halfway into the movie with Gee Willikers going to Bugzburg, a subplot that feels pointless and disparate, until you realize that Filmation was working on a Bugzburg spinoff series that never came to fruition. That script real estate would have better served to flesh out the main characters (and I think Scalawag and Igor make for better spinoff material anyway).

Despite those drawbacks, I'm a little more forgiving of this weird little movie. In some ways, it's like a glimpse into an alternate future where Filmation got to live on.

Yeah, I am one of those people who are more familiar with Disney's version of the tale of wooden puppet brought to life, but I had to see this after hearing about it for a long time. Basically Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night is a movie made by Filmation (the same company that made some low budget cartoons for TV, most notably, Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids and the original He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe cartoon and its sister series, She-Ra: Princess of Power, among others), and it has gotten a cult following over the years since its theatrical release was not so well recieved.

Basically, the story is set one year after Pinocchio becomes a real boy, and he gets in trouble with his father after trading a jeweled music box that was a gift to the mayor for a fake ruby from con artists Scallywag and Igor, a raccoon and monkey duo serving as the film's version of Honest John and Gideon. The kid runs away, and what results is an adventure where he goes to try to get the music box back.

Yeah, this film has a lot of similarities to the Disney original. So much, that Disney actually tried and sued Filmation, but failed because the original story was out of copright. Other than Scallywag and Igor, we have Gee Willickers, a wooden glow bug brought to life to serve as a replacement for Jiminy Cricket, and Puppetino, a puppetmaster working at the carnival, actually recognizes Pinocchio from a show he saw, which could tie in to him being the film's version of Stromboli, the puppet master of the Disney film. Other than that, the film actually introduces new characters, like Twinkle, a female puppet who serves as Pinocchio's love interest, Liutenant Grumblebee, a bumbebee, and The Emperor Of The Night, the main antagonist (who looks like Filmation redid some animation cels of Prime Evil from their Ghostbusters cartoon). Also, the voice cast has some notable actors, like James Earl Jones as the Emperor of the Night, Don Knotts as Gee Willickers, Johnathan Harris as Grumblebee, and even Frank Welker, a man who has done a lot of characters in animation, as Igor.

As for the story, it is okay. Supposedly set after happily ever after, I believe this has no connection to the Disney film at all, despite certain characters being replacements of characters from the Disney films. There are some scary moments in this film (like the scene where Puppetino captures Pinocchio as he's turning back into a puppet due to taking his freedom for granted, with the creepy puppets and disturbing music played), but I think it's only scary if you're not an older person as I am (it never scared me, yet I could still never brave the scene of Lampwick turning into a donkey in the Disney film). The film has its fair share of high points and low points, but it has Pinocchio learn lessons about freedom and responsibility. It's an okay movie, but may not be suitable for younger viewers due to the use of scary imagery that may or may not give them nightmares.

If I'm not mistaken, I think it's just about my one-year anniversary here at IMDB. Now I'm sure my raging fans (all two of you) are well aware that I can't get enough of weird cartoons. I happened to run into "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night" in the bargain bin of a thrift store recently, bought it remembering only that I had rented it several times as a kid, and came away concluding that it's going to take one heck of a cartoon to beat this one!

This movie is crazy. It's like somebody wanted to do an animated film of _Faust_, got bored with it, and decided for the heck of it to throw Pinocchio and Gepetto in it (other characters from the _Pinocchio_ story show up in poor disguises). Pinocchio's adventure leads him from an evil carnival to a freakish neon Hell populated by small children and lastly to the domain of a quadrimanous Satan. Along the way, he has run-ins with a wooden insect, a monkey who is eerily prescient of JarJar Binks down to the last stupid big tooth, and a pretty girl puppet owned by Satan's minion. This last character (the puppet, not the minion) is the focus of a crush from Pinocchio, and I guess this is supposed to be romantic but it comes across as very creepy. (I mean, he's a real boy lusting over a *doll* people; look at the looks he's giving her!)

This is a very trippy movie. On that level, it isn't half bad. I actually rather enjoyed it.

I grew up watching the Disney film, and also love the book by Carlo Collodi. This is a wonderful underrated gem from 1987, that is a lot of fun. If I had to decide which is better, Disney's "Pinocchio" or "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night", the Disney film but only marginally.

For one thing, the animation is very impressive. The backgrounds are surprisingly detailed and the character movements are convincing. The animation on the Emperor of the Night is absolutely brilliant. Also, the songs are fun and memorable. "Love is the Light Inside Your Heart" is not only haunting but a genuine tearjerker. "Neon Cabaret", while more a background song is also great, while "You're a Star" is wonderfully upbeat.

Other advantages are an engaging, dark and heartwarming story that keeps to the spirit of the book, a strong script and good characters, including the hilarious Igor and Puppetino(the part when he turns Pinocchio into a puppet was quite frightening). Pinocchio is engaging enough, and the Emperor of the Night while very intense is a great villain. Oh and the Good Fairy is gorgeous.

The voice acting is top notch, you don't hear much of James Earl Jones but once again he does an awesome job as the voice of the Emperor of the Night. Tom Bosley is surprisingly good as Geopetto, while William Windom is unrecognisable as Puppetino. Also Frank Welker deserves credit for his hysterical performance as Igor. In conclusion, this is wonderful and something quite special. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Don't be put off by those who would label this little gem a Disney ripoff. In a time when very few animated features were being produced, Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night is a surprisingly nice little animated film. From the opening moments, you can see that this was intended to be something special. There is some great animation, such as the ending on the Emperor of the Night's ship. There are some dark, genuinely frightening moments such as James Earl Jones as the titular Emperor and his macabre carnival, or a scene which has Pinocchio transformed back into a lifeless puppet. There are comical moments with Gee Willikers the wooden glowbug and Grumblebee. There are also bizarre, surreal scenes, notably a sequence where Pinocchio is tempted in a dream-like land by the Emperor and his minions. The song in this scene, "The Neon Cabaret", is jazzy and upbeat, and it enhances strange mood. Don Knotts, James Earl Jones, Ed Asner, and Jonathan Harris all give wonderful voice performances to their respective characters. Rickie Lee Jones as the Fairy Godmother tends to grate though.

The overall impression is that of a very ambitious production. The film moves along at a good pace and boils to a great climactic finish. Definitely worth a look!